DaddyFlip
Well-known member
Not really, but since BP wisely and graciously closed the thread regarding neck finishes, and because I had something to add to that discussion that could apply to any personal preference or deference regarding EBMM products, I have elected to post a new thread here. I am aware that this is not the most popular forum section, but this post belongs here and I hope to share with those who care to read (or accidentally stumble upon) an opportunity for personal enrichment. I think I will have more enrichment opportunities to share in the future, likely unrelated to EBMM, if the moderators will so indulge and allow.
“And as in all human affairs, those who examine them will indeed see that it is never possible to avoid one inconvenience but that another one will spring up… And therefore, in every one of our decisions, there ought to be considered where the inconveniences are less, and then take up the better proceeding, for there will never be formed anything entirely clear of suspicion.”
- Niccolo Machiavelli from Discourses on Livy; Book 1, Chapter 6, Paragraph 3
Machiavelli was discussing the politics and government relevant to the formation and maintenance of a republic, but if one carefully considers the quote above, taken out of its original context and applied to guitars, one can imagine how difficult it is for EBMM to provide the consuming public with any single product that satisfies everyone on all counts. We all know the saying, ‘you can’t please everyone all of the time’, and not too many years ago, this axiom of modern manufacturing and marketing was accepted by a more modest and mature consuming public.
Henry Ford said, “They can have any color they want as long as it’s black,” and the consuming public willingly and graciously accepted black. When Leo Fender invented the bass guitar, it was perfect because, like Ford’s ‘horseless carriage’, there weren’t any others and people wanted them regardless of what color they were.
But our culture and our ideals have changed to, “I don’t care about everyone, just please me all of the time”. If EBMM made the perfect neck for one person, another wouldn’t like it. If the neck were somehow made to please everyone, someone would have issue with the body, and so on. If EBMM were to engineer out all possible points of contention and miraculously craft the absolute perfect bass (or guitar), the bass to end all basses that was perfect in every way for everyone, everyone would want one. All other manufacturers would go out of business as everyone dumped their current bass and placed orders with EBMM. Eventually, EBMM wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand, and there would be even more complaints… “but that another one will spring up”.
So one day, someone became tired of waiting for the perfect EBMM and went out on his own to build a bass. It wasn’t perfect, but he had a bass in his hands he could play now; one more happy bass player. Other disgruntled denizens of the EBMM waiting list found out they could have a bass now, too. So what if the neck weren’t exactly like the perfect EBMM? No bass, no music; and the band’s tired of waiting on the bass player, so a whole host of people cancelled their order and got the new bass and a NEW manufacturer was born; many more happy bass players.
Then one day, someone suggested that NEW should change the neck finish because he was tired of getting splinters in his thumb when he reached for the B-string. Another person asked for some kind of replaceable cover for the body because it kept getting scratched up by his pick (when this request was heard by a gathering of NEW zealots, said pick user was loudly dismissed as not being a real bass player). A third person kept losing the screws to his truss rod cover and wondered if there was a better way to adjust the truss rod and get rid of the worrisome cover. NEW was somewhat dismayed, not only because some of his customers were unhappy with his product, but because OTHER manufacturers had started popping up everywhere as EBMM had no hope of making enough perfect basses for everybody. Some unhappy customers decided to try OTHER’s offerings.
In response, NEW designed an ingenious truss rod adjustment system that required no cover, no tools and no special technique. NEW also decided to add a pickguard to the body, and the customer could choose several different colors and designs to suit his personal taste. NEW offered not one, but three different neck finishes; one was fully hand sanded and contoured to remove all the splinters. The second was the same neck, but coated with a lacquer to protect the wood and guarantee there would be no splinters. The third was like the first, but painted to match the body, guarantee no splinters, protect the wood and feel smooth to the touch. With so many options available, NEW was certain everyone would be satisfied.
But someone complained that since pickguards were now standard, he couldn’t have a guardless bass without those unsightly holes in the body. Another complained that the neck was junk because the strings were too far away from it on the one that FedEx just delivered to his house. One person heard that several unhappy customers that went to OTHER were complaining about NEW’s neck finishes. When he reported this to another gathering of NEW zealots, a heated, if brief discussion ensued where it became clear that the zealots could not even decide which, if any of the neck finishes were really suitable.
So the owner of NEW ended the debate by implicitly declaring that his products were lovingly and carefully made to his specifications and were available on the open market at a fair price to any and all who cared to purchase them. It seems that many had forgotten that at one time, there was only one bass available. It was perfect, but there were few, if any options and the wait was so long it was like the bass didn’t even exist. Those who did get one eventually longed for something else, not only because they couldn’t appreciate perfection, but also because the desires of the human heart constantly shift, not by reason but by whim and circumstance. The heart itself cannot be trusted and its desires are never satisfied.
“A corrupt and disorderly multitude can be spoken to by some worthy person and can easily be brought around to the right way…” Machiavelli
“And as in all human affairs, those who examine them will indeed see that it is never possible to avoid one inconvenience but that another one will spring up… And therefore, in every one of our decisions, there ought to be considered where the inconveniences are less, and then take up the better proceeding, for there will never be formed anything entirely clear of suspicion.”
- Niccolo Machiavelli from Discourses on Livy; Book 1, Chapter 6, Paragraph 3
Machiavelli was discussing the politics and government relevant to the formation and maintenance of a republic, but if one carefully considers the quote above, taken out of its original context and applied to guitars, one can imagine how difficult it is for EBMM to provide the consuming public with any single product that satisfies everyone on all counts. We all know the saying, ‘you can’t please everyone all of the time’, and not too many years ago, this axiom of modern manufacturing and marketing was accepted by a more modest and mature consuming public.
Henry Ford said, “They can have any color they want as long as it’s black,” and the consuming public willingly and graciously accepted black. When Leo Fender invented the bass guitar, it was perfect because, like Ford’s ‘horseless carriage’, there weren’t any others and people wanted them regardless of what color they were.
But our culture and our ideals have changed to, “I don’t care about everyone, just please me all of the time”. If EBMM made the perfect neck for one person, another wouldn’t like it. If the neck were somehow made to please everyone, someone would have issue with the body, and so on. If EBMM were to engineer out all possible points of contention and miraculously craft the absolute perfect bass (or guitar), the bass to end all basses that was perfect in every way for everyone, everyone would want one. All other manufacturers would go out of business as everyone dumped their current bass and placed orders with EBMM. Eventually, EBMM wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand, and there would be even more complaints… “but that another one will spring up”.
So one day, someone became tired of waiting for the perfect EBMM and went out on his own to build a bass. It wasn’t perfect, but he had a bass in his hands he could play now; one more happy bass player. Other disgruntled denizens of the EBMM waiting list found out they could have a bass now, too. So what if the neck weren’t exactly like the perfect EBMM? No bass, no music; and the band’s tired of waiting on the bass player, so a whole host of people cancelled their order and got the new bass and a NEW manufacturer was born; many more happy bass players.
Then one day, someone suggested that NEW should change the neck finish because he was tired of getting splinters in his thumb when he reached for the B-string. Another person asked for some kind of replaceable cover for the body because it kept getting scratched up by his pick (when this request was heard by a gathering of NEW zealots, said pick user was loudly dismissed as not being a real bass player). A third person kept losing the screws to his truss rod cover and wondered if there was a better way to adjust the truss rod and get rid of the worrisome cover. NEW was somewhat dismayed, not only because some of his customers were unhappy with his product, but because OTHER manufacturers had started popping up everywhere as EBMM had no hope of making enough perfect basses for everybody. Some unhappy customers decided to try OTHER’s offerings.
In response, NEW designed an ingenious truss rod adjustment system that required no cover, no tools and no special technique. NEW also decided to add a pickguard to the body, and the customer could choose several different colors and designs to suit his personal taste. NEW offered not one, but three different neck finishes; one was fully hand sanded and contoured to remove all the splinters. The second was the same neck, but coated with a lacquer to protect the wood and guarantee there would be no splinters. The third was like the first, but painted to match the body, guarantee no splinters, protect the wood and feel smooth to the touch. With so many options available, NEW was certain everyone would be satisfied.
But someone complained that since pickguards were now standard, he couldn’t have a guardless bass without those unsightly holes in the body. Another complained that the neck was junk because the strings were too far away from it on the one that FedEx just delivered to his house. One person heard that several unhappy customers that went to OTHER were complaining about NEW’s neck finishes. When he reported this to another gathering of NEW zealots, a heated, if brief discussion ensued where it became clear that the zealots could not even decide which, if any of the neck finishes were really suitable.
So the owner of NEW ended the debate by implicitly declaring that his products were lovingly and carefully made to his specifications and were available on the open market at a fair price to any and all who cared to purchase them. It seems that many had forgotten that at one time, there was only one bass available. It was perfect, but there were few, if any options and the wait was so long it was like the bass didn’t even exist. Those who did get one eventually longed for something else, not only because they couldn’t appreciate perfection, but also because the desires of the human heart constantly shift, not by reason but by whim and circumstance. The heart itself cannot be trusted and its desires are never satisfied.
“A corrupt and disorderly multitude can be spoken to by some worthy person and can easily be brought around to the right way…” Machiavelli
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